


Perfect

by goldenshell



Series: Perfect [1]
Category: MandoPony - Fandom, NateWantsToBattle - Fandom
Genre: Angst, But there is..., Emotional Manipulation, I'll write a happy and gay follow up, Kinda, Light Angst, M/M, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, There isn't any comfort this time, if i feel like it, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 04:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17196278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenshell/pseuds/goldenshell
Summary: Nate’s been acting off and Andy can't place why. Only when he calls him out on it does he realizes it's not Nate.





	Perfect

For the past week, Nate’s been acting slightly off and Andy couldn't place why. He’d been dressing a bit nicer than usual even though they weren’t going anywhere. He was acting a bit less fun, laid back, and seemed to avoid Andy as much as he could.

At first Andy didn’t mind, but then it got more noticeable. He started asking Nate if he was alright more. Asking if he was being too overbearing or clingy. Nate always reassured him he wasn't but it never felt like he meant it. It wasn't until they were having a date night that Andy was finally done with it and chose to confront Nate head on.

They had gone out for dinner before returning home to watch a movie. But Nate was acting just as cold and distant as he had been acting over the past week, which upset Andy since it _was_ date night.

Once they got back inside, Andy stopped Nate in the front hallway by grabbing his arm and saying, “Nate. We need to talk. You’ve been acting odd lately.”

“What do you mean?” Nate asked, it was a question, but it didn't _sound_ like a question.

Andy let go of Nate’s arm as he looked down at him, frowning slightly. “I mean, you've been acting a lot less,” he paused as he tried to think of how to describe it, “happy-go-lucky. Not so laidback.”

Nate just waved his hand as he turned to walk down the hall, “I've just been stressed.”

“I've seen you get stressed. You don't act like,” again Andy paused as he tried to think of just how to explain it, eventually giving up and just motioning to Nate and exclaiming, “this!”

Nate stopped for a second and glanced back at Andy, his eyebrow raised. He snickered as he turned to face Andrew, a somewhat malicious smile on his face. “So I guess my acting skills aren’t as good as I thought they were,” he stepped closer to Andy and grabbed him by the shirt collar when he started to back away, “or you're a lot more perceptive than I thought you were.”

Andy tried to pull away, trying to stay calm as it dawned on him what had been up with Nate. “You're. Not. Nate,” Andy said softly, pausing between words as he stared at the being still holding onto him.

Nate smirked, another small chuckle leaving him, “Wow, you're so smart. Someone give this man a reward!” The smile dropped as he rolled his eyes, answering Andy’s question-like statement, “No. I'm not Nate.”

“What did you do to him?”

“Don't worry,” Nate reassured him, “he’s fine. I'm just using him for a bit. Speaking of which, I could really use your help too.” He shifted slightly, moving so that Andy’s back was almost pressed up against the hallway wall.

And that got Andy squirming. “Fuck off! Get out of Nate right now!” Andy snapped at him, starting to dig his dull nails into Nate’s arm and attempting to knee him.

Nate just chuckled as he moved to avoid being hit, “What are you going to do? Hurt me?” he got quieter as he leaned close enough to hiss into Andrew’s ear, “Hurt your boyfriend?”

“You're not him!”

“Yes, but he can still feel what happens,” Nate purred as he pulled away from Andy, not letting go of his shirt.

Andy seemed like he was about to yell at him again, but stayed silent. He squirmed weakly in the other’s grip for a bit before muttering, “Let me go.”

“No. I already told you, I need your help.”

“And I already told you to fuck off,” he growled in return, squirming more as he tried to pry the thing’s fingers open.

“Are you really going to be this difficult?” Nate growled as he used his other hand to grip Andy by the jaw. When his only response was more squirming he sighed, and dug his nails into Andy’s cheeks. “I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way,” he hissed as he pulled the other closer.

He forced Andy to look him in the eyes as he started humming softly. At first, Andy just kept squirming, jerking his head around in an attempt to make Nate lose his grip. But it didn’t work. He just dug his nails deeper and forced Andy to stay still. Slowly, Andy stopped squirming as he just stared into Nate’s eyes, occasionally humming along. A smirk crept onto Nate’s face as he pulled Andy close, pressing a kiss to his lips, the other going suddenly limp. Nate quickly caught him, pulling out of the kiss and baring his teeth like that was the most disgusting thing in existence.

“Stand up,” he commanded, his voice losing any softness it had held before. As if being controlled by strings, Andy stood up straight, right in front of Nate. Nate smiled as he gently cupped Andy by the jaw and ran his thumb along Andy’s cheek. “Perfect.”

~~

Andy was conscious the whole time, his mind just feeling a bit cloudy. He watched himself go about the days, eating and sleeping on an almost perfect schedule as if he was a zombie. The worst part of it was being around Nate.

Whenever he wanted, he could tell Andy to do something, and like a puppet he’d do it immediately. It's why he was stuck in this trance-like state. Every time the fog would start to lift in his mind and he'd get a bit of control, the other would do that whole thing again. Except, since Andy didn't have complete control of his body, he couldn't resist when the other told him to look into his eyes and quiet down.

Nate was gone this time as it started to fade. Slowly, Andy was able to control what he was doing again. When he had just enough control, he moved to go hide. He would have made a run for it had it not been for the fact that if Nate was outside, he'd be put back under. So for now, he was going to avoid him until he could leave.

He hid in the closet for a bit, listening to the noises coming from the house. More specifically, the lack of noises. It wasn't long before he heard a door open and close and a couple of footsteps following it. He could vaguely hear Nate’s voice but he couldn’t make out what was being said.

He tried his best to stay quiet. He just had to wait for Nate to leave again, then he could make a run for it.

Thankfully it wasn't long before he hard the front door open and slam shut. He didn’t hear any footsteps so he assumed Nate had left. Not wanting to risk it, he stayed quiet as he pushed the closet door open and got out.

As he started for the door, it hit him that he was ditching Nate with whatever was controlling his body. But he couldn't do anything about it. He just had to get out. As soon as he was out and away from him, he could try to figure out how to get Nate back. If only he had-

Andy’s train of thought was interrupted as he was slammed into a wall. Hunter standing over him, hands gripping Andy’s shoulders. “Hunter?” Andy squeaked as he tried to pull from the other’s grip. The only response he got was Hunter’s grip tightening. He gets yanked close and Hunter wraps his arms around him, making it almost impossible for him to move his arms.

Andy let out a little noise of pain from how tightly he was being held. His little hiss was cut off by the voice of that _monster_ slowly approaching them. “You're full of surprises, aren’t you?” Nate purred as he grabbed Andy by the jaw, and tilted his head up to make him look at him.

"Why are you doing this?” he hissed through bared teeth as he shook his head to try and get it free from Nate’s grip.

Nate didn’t bother to answer his question, just tightening his grip on Andy’s jaw. “Did you enjoy your little game of hide and seek?” When his only response was Andy continuing to try and shake his head free, Nate asked, “Are you done with that little rebel attitude?”

Andy just continued to squirm, a soft “Fuck off,” being his only answer. He kicked his feet around, trying to get Hunter to let go or for Nate to back off.

That didn’t work, of course. Nate let out a sigh as he loosened his grip on Andy but didn't let him go. “I was trying to be nice. But I guess you just can't behave,” he said as he shook his head. He started humming, not the same tune as before, a different one. Like last time, Andy’s movement slowly stopped but this time, he hung limp in Hunter’s arms, seemingly asleep. Nate finally let go of Andy, moving to brush his hair back before looking up at Hunter. Nate took him from Hunter and moved to lay him on the couch. “Tie him up. They have rope out in the shed.”

As Hunter went to do what he was told, Nate sat on the couch next to Andy’s head and gently ran his fingers through Andy’s hair. He scrolled through Nate’s phone quietly humming as he skimmed through the contacts, finally finding the one he was looking for. When Hunter came back into the room, Nate glanced at him and motioned for him to be quiet as he put the phone to his ear. He got up from the couch as Hunter started to tie Andy up. “Hey Shawn. You’re flying in tonight, right? … Do you want to meet up? … Yeah, that’d be great. … I’ll see you then.”

~~

When Andy came to he was lying on the couch, unable to move. He heard talking coming from the kitchen but he couldn’t make out what was being said. “Hello?” he said softly, really hoping it wasn’t Nate. But Andy was just not getting lucky at all.

“You’re finally awake,” he said as he walked over to the couch and leaned over the back to look down at Andy. “How’d you sleep?” he asked, it didn’t sound like he cared, more like he was smug that it worked.

“Let me go,” Andy hissed as he tried to squirm, only being able to wiggle slightly.

“I’ll take that as you slept well.”

As Andy is struggling, he ends up on his side and notices Shawn standing in the hallway. At first Andy is relieved, because there’s someone who can help him, but then he notices the empty look in his eyes. The same that had been in Hunter’s. “What are you planning?” Andy growled as he rolled onto his back to look back at Nate, but he was gone.

“What am I planning?” Nate repeated, making Andy jump as he sat down by his head. “Don’t you remember?” he purred, leaning over Andy, smiling down at him, “Nate planned this.” When he got no response he tried prompting Andy, “A short tour? One show in San Francisco, then another in L.A.?”

“W-” Andy stared up at him confused. Then it hit him, “Fuck. The show-”

“Don’t worry. It’s not getting cancelled. Oh no. I’m going to use it.”

“For what?”

“You’ll see,” he purred, gently cupping Andy’s cheek, “Remember? You’re going to help me.” He moved to sit Andy upright. “Now, I could do as I did last time,” Nate said as he got up and started to pace in front of Andy, “but seeing as how much trouble you've given me, I think I'm going to make you stay like this until I need you.” He approached Andy and tilted his head up with a finger as he purred, “It’s only fitting, isn't it?”

Before Andy could even think of a reply, he was alone again on the couch, with the hollow shell that was Shawn watching him.

~~

Andy couldn’t get out of the ropes, he couldn’t get Shawn or Hunter to snap out of it, the thing using Nate just made him sit there and watch, he wouldn’t respond when Andy tried to talked to him. Andy was just stuck waiting. It wasn’t long, only a few days. But when you can’t do anything it felt like forever.

When it came time for the show, “Nate” had everyone who was supposed to go under his spell. Shawn, Hunter, everyone. Except Andy. He was making Andy watch. Forcing Andy to see how easily he can make others do what he wanted.

Nate knocked Andy out again for the drive there. Even Andy could have figured out driving with someone tied up in the back would make people suspicious.

Andy came to once they were outside the venue. Nate was next to him, sitting quietly on his phone. When he noticed Andy wake up, a smirk crawled onto his face. “I'm going to let you choose this time. Are you going to do what I tell you of your own free will, or do I need to make you listen?” he asked, not looking at Andy just yet.

Andy stayed silent for a moment. He could run for it. Hunter and Shawn weren’t here. He wasn’t tied up. But he wasn't sure what Nate would do either if he didn't stay. “Fine,” he said softly, “I'll listen.”

“That’s a good boy,” Nate said as he finally looked at Andy, smiling widely before getting out of the car. “Don't make me regret letting you choose.” Nate didn't look back at Andy as he walked into the building.

Andy could easily make a run for it now. He didn’t have to get out of the car. He didn't have to go into the building. But he did. Shawn was there. Hunter was there. Nate was being _used_. He couldn't just leave them there. He didn't know what Nate would do to them if he didn't listen.

Not wanting to risk anything, he went straight to Nate. “I'm assuming you talked to the venue owners?” Andy asked softly as he looked around.

A big smile was plastered on Nate face as he nodded. “I did. They said the back room is down that hallway and to the right,” he said, pointing to the hallway closest to them, “Why don't you go practice? Your guitar is back there already.”

Andy just nodded before doing as Nate suggested. He knew it wasn't a suggestion. It sounded like one. But there was no doubt that's what he wanted Andy to do. He sat back there, practicing the songs Nate— _his Nate_ , not that monster—had planned while he waited for the show to start. He was glad he didn't have to perform on his own. He was certain he wouldn't have been able to perform on his own. Shawn at least seemed like himself when he went out on stage, but Andy could see the hollowness in his eyes.

The three of them were all dressed up relatively nice which was also different. Andy wearing a long sleeved, black button up and red tie Nate had chosen. Nate was in a red button up with a black tie and vest. Shawn was the least dressed up. He wore a simple elbow length, black button up and black jeans. Granted they were all wearing black jeans but Shawn seemed the least nicely dressed with tears in his.

If people noticed the difference, they didn't care. It didn't concern them. They were all just cheering as soon as the three were out on stage.

They got through a few songs before Andy noticed a change in Nate. He had started to hum before the music for Phantom started. And it wasn't until Andy was staring at Nate and feeling his mind go fuzzy that he realized that's what Nate had hummed. He had been humming the start of Phantom. He stopped playing but Nate didn’t stop. No one seemed to notice. They were all focused on Nate.

_They were_ **_all_ ** _focused on Nate._ Andy thought he was in control of himself. He thought he caught on and avoided it. He hadn't noticed he started playing again. He didn't notice the fog at the edge of his mind until it was too late. It was too late and “Nate” had what he wanted. Control.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: While I do ship Andy and Nate, I know they aren't gay. I ship their personalities, not them as people. I could easily change the character names in this to different names and the story would be the same. Or I could just exclude the tags that gave away who Nate and Andy were since the names are so generic. But I'm not doing that is because it's based on the personas they put on when online as well as so others who might ship them can find this. (It's so rare to find Andy/Nate.)


End file.
